Sale of West Midlands homes leave vendors £20,000 out of pocket

Homeowners have lost out to the tune of £20,000 when selling their properties in the last six years, new figures show

West Midlands property sales have left vendors £20,000 out of pocket on average

Shock figures have revealed that almost half of West Midlands home sales in the last six years have left the sellers facing losses of around £20,000.

The housing slump means that around 11,000 families in the West Midlands have sold their homes at a loss since 2007, new data shows.

Research
by housing investment and shared equity provider Castle Trust show that
the deficit for many householders in the wake of the downturn amounted to around 12 per cent of the average property price in the region.

The news has led to warning that owning homes currently is a serious financial risk.

More than one in eight homeowners fear they may be forced to sell their current home at a loss in the future.

The
initial research, which tracks the proportion of properties selling at a
profit or loss, includes an analysis of properties in the West Midlands
which were bought and sold between January 2007 and January 2013.

Of
these properties, 44.4 per cent (10,552) were sold at a loss, with the average shortfall being £20,365 (on average 12 per cent of the house price).

Over the same period, 51.5 per cent (12,237) of homes were sold for a profit, generating an average return of £29,234 per transaction (on average 17.3
per cent of the house price) and the remaining 4.1 per cent (991) sold for the purchase price. Sean Oldfield, chief executive officer of Castle
Trust said: “Since the downturn around 11,000 families in the West Midlands and 130,000 families across England and Wales have made a loss on their home, placing them under enormous financial and emotional pressures.

“When you take
into account the costs associated with moving home, from stamp duty to solicitor’s fees, this situation becomes even worse.

“The
long-term performance of house prices shows national house price growth
in line with national wage growth but it is clear that individual house
prices are really volatile and that home ownership is risky – much more
risky than most people appreciate.”